Policyholders vs. Insurers: 3 Arguments to Make When Selecting Defense Counsel & Hourly Rates
What is Subrogation and How Does it Affect Settlement Amounts?
California courts strictly enforce an insurer’s duty to immediately commence defending its insured. The insurer’s delay in doing so, even if the delay is short, constitutes a breach of this important duty. In fact, California...more
United States District Court Orders Insured To Produce Certain Pre-Litigation Documents But Not Others Deemed Work Product 99 Wall sued Allied World seeking coverage under a property policy for water losses at 99 Wall’s...more
Scope: The “Comparison Test” - The defense obligation arises when a defense is needed: at the outset of the suit. It follows that, unlike the duty to indemnify (which depends on the “true” facts as they are determined in...more
The South Carolina Supreme Court’s decision in Harleysville Insurance Co. v. Heritage Communities, Inc., modified July 27, 2017, continues a trend of decisions aimed at preventing an insurer from acting in its own interest to...more
Exception to Mold Exclusion Requires Defense of Suit Alleging Injuries From Moldy Water - Why it matters: An exclusion for "Fungi or Bacteria" did not prevent a federal court judge in Tennessee from ordering an insurer...more
The first line of the Seventh Circuit’s opinion says it all: “This case provides a warning for insurance companies who refuse to defend their insureds.” As the court’s admonishment suggests, insurers that improperly refuse to...more
The California Supreme Court held in Hartford Casualty Insurance Company v. J.R. Marketing, L.L.C. (Squire Sanders) (8/10/2015 - #S211645) that if Cumis counsel, operating under a court order which such counsel drafted and...more
For more than a decade, courts applying Texas law — including the Fifth Circuit, two federal district courts and several Texas courts of appeal — have uniformly held that an insurer’s full and timely payment of an appraisal...more
What are the consequences of a liability insurer’s breach of the duty to defend its insured against a potentially covered claim? Recent decisions from the New York Court of Appeals highlight differing views nationwide on...more